Protestors, police clash as premiers and governors meet

Hundreds of protesters march through Burlington, Vt., during demonstrations on Sunday, as the 36th Annual Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers set up at the hotel. A second day of protest, Monday, saw confrontations with riot police. AP Photo/The Burlington Free Press, Elliot deBruyn

BURLINGTON, Vt. – Police fired rubber pellets and pepper balls at protesters as governors from the northeastern U.S. and eastern Canadian premiers prepared to meet Monday to discuss regional issues.

An estimated 500 people marched Sunday through Burlington, Vermont, over government policies toward the environment, immigrants and refugees and the economy, protest organizers said.

Protesters created a “human oil spill” over the possibility that tar sands oil from western Canada might be shipped across Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

“It’s clear the governors and premiers are meeting to talk about trade policy, energy and infrastructure,” said Avery Pittman, spokeswoman for the protest groups. “They’re definitely prioritizing profits and money-making over the needs of the people or the impact these proposals will have on us.”

Pittman said police in riot gear fired rubber bullets on protesters, along with the pepper bullets. Police denied using rubber bullets.